


New Year's Eve

by 00Wandering_Ghost00



Category: Turn (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Fright, Gen, Ghosts, Haunted Places, Haunted holiday, Horror, It's a horror story not romance, Murder Mystery, No Smut, Unexplained Events, giftfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-02-17 12:18:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13076724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/00Wandering_Ghost00/pseuds/00Wandering_Ghost00
Summary: Ben buys a new home for himself, to move in after finishing university. He wants to spend the holidays there with a few friends. Unknown to him though is the house's sinister past, and the identity of its former owner. Shortly before New Year's Eve, mysterious events start to unsettle them. Ben tries to find answers, and time is running out. What happened in the house, and why neighbours are so reluctant to talk about it?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tvsn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tvsn/gifts), [Reinette_de_la_Saintonge](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reinette_de_la_Saintonge/gifts).



> Happy New Year, dearest readers! ^^
> 
> This fic is a sort-of-late-Christmas gift for two of my favourite AO3 people. I hope you guys will like it, despite it being a crappy ghost-story, I tried my best. :D
> 
> It may contain some disturbing elements, but I tried not to be gory or something. (That would be just disgusting.) ;)

_24 th December._

“So, where are we going?” Ben heard Caleb from the back seat of his black sedan. “I told you guys.” Ben answered. “It’s a surprise.” Anna nudged Ben from the shotgun-seat. “You aren’t driving us off from the map to see a ruined old shack, are you?” Ben chuckled. “No, of course not.” “Good.” Caleb added. “Besides, I saw a sign telling there’s a diner nearby. We should stop and refill our tanks, what do you say?” Anna shrugged, Ben glanced at him through the rear-view mirror. “All right.” he said. “But the faster we get there, the less we have to worry about snow storms.” Anna turned around and exchanged a look with Caleb. “So you do want to drive us off into the end of the world to see a ruined old shack.” she stated. “I’ll tell you about it during lunch.” Seeing Ben’s smug smile, Anna could do nothing but trust him. They stopped at a roadside diner, and as they were nibbling on their respective junk-food, Ben sighed and looked at his phone. “Too bad Abe and Mary couldn’t come.” he mused. “They wanted to, but Thomas got sick again.” Caleb added. “You know how kids are.” “They wished us merry Christmas though.” Ben held his phone with the cheerful message up for his friends to see. “Rob also sent one.” Caleb held his phone up too. “May your asses won’t freeze off.” he read the text out loud. “Merry Christmas from the Townsends.” Anna laughed along with her friends, but her expression saddened after a while. “And what about you, Annie?” Caleb asked. “Your man did send you a greeting?” Anna shook her head and took a sip from her lukewarm latte. “Selah and I are… not on the best of terms lately.” she said. “Otherwise he would come along, but we decided to spend the holidays apart this year. Give time to each other.” Ben reached out and gently patted Anna’s hand. “Don’t worry about it okay?” he asked. “It’s just the three of us and Santa this Christmas then.” They paid their tabs and got up, getting back into Ben’s car. The road trip from the diner went silently, and to ease the creeping bad feeling, Ben turned on the radio. The sound of cheesy, overused Christmas songs filled the car.

They arrived at the house shortly after driving through a small suburb. Ben stopped the car and the plastic cheeriness of the holiday radio, and got out along with his friends. “It’s beautiful!” Anna exclaimed, examining the outer façade of the house. It had an upper floor with a balcony and big windows, even some potted evergreens on the porch. The neighbours were fairly close but hidden by the trees. Caleb whistled. “Pretty big. I thought it will be a shack out in the wilderness.” Ben laughed. “Nah, I love tiny houses, but wanted something big enough for… you know, future plans.” They helped Anna with her bag, and settled in relatively quickly. Anna wandered around the house, explored the rooms downstairs, and the creaky stairway that led to a closed and locked door. “Ben, can we take a look around upstairs?” she asked, still halfway up. Ben fished his keys out. “I guess. But it’s just the attic full of junk the previous owner left here.” He went upstairs, stopped next to Anna, and tried the keys to open the lock. Much to his surprise, none of the keys fit into the hole on the door. “Hmm. Strange.” Ben commented. “I swear last time I was here I had a key to the attic.” he shrugged and cast an apologetic glance at Anna. “Sorry. Looks like I left the key in the car, or at my parents’ place. Maybe next time.” Anna shrugged too, and both of them went down to the kitchen, where Caleb was unpacking the contents of the several plastic bag and boxes. “Your mom must have thought that you invited an army over to your new place for Christmas.” he commented, pointing at the collection of supplies on the kitchen table. “It has to last until New Year’s Eve, and it’s a week away.” Ben explained. Anna went to unpack her clothes and other belongings, while Caleb and Benjamin took care of their food supply. As she entered the small guestroom, she felt a bit uneasy. It was very plain, for Ben had no time to redecorate yet, and dominated mostly by darker colours. Olive green, earthy brown, and black. Anna decided to tell Ben the next day that his new home is in dire need of a woman’s touch. Whoever lived here before, clearly had no sense of fashion, or harmony at all. She opened one of the drawers, and put her stuff into it. When she was done, she joined her friends in the living room. “It’s a real, fully functional fireplace.” Caleb said to Ben. “Why shouldn’t we light some fire in it?” “Because it’s not safe. I didn’t have time yet to clear the chimney, and I don’t even have firewood. So, I guess the electronic heating will do this year.” Ben said apologetically. “But at least we can hang some socks on it.” Caleb patted his friend on the shoulder. The day went by with them getting unpacked and accustomed to the new house Ben was very proud of. “This will be a great place to raise a family.” he mused that evening, sitting on the couch next to Caleb and Anna. “And it was pretty cheap, I’m not kidding.” Anna raised her brow, and put her glass of spicy wine down. “How? I mean… It’s big, and it’s in a very good neighbourhood.” “Yeah, I know.” Ben nodded. “I was surprised to see the price range at first, but I felt like I can’t let this opportunity slip away.” Caleb refilled their glasses, and leaned back. “You must have a genius real-estate agent.” Ben chuckled. “No, I actually don’t like the guy.” Anna nudged him. “Tell us about it!” Ben cleared his throat, and put his glass down. “Well you see, there’s this unbearable, obnoxious style that he has. And he’s a greedy fellow, but I have to give him that he found this house for me in no time. And well inside my price range. So, besides being a dick over six feet, he’s cool. Lives up to his reputation.” Caleb also put his glass on the table. “So you heard about him somewhere?” Ben nodded. “Yeah, I did some research for real estate agencies in the area, and theirs was the most rated. It’s a family business ran by a couple and their secretary.” Anna nodded. “It figures. Still, I find it funny that a house this big and fairly new was in your set price range. Don’t get me wrong Ben, but I think there must be something fishy with this deal.” As she finished talking, a hanging ornament just fell from the wall, and shattered into pieces on the floor tiles. “Holy shit!” Ben exclaimed. Caleb went over to see what caused the unfortunate Christmas decoration to abandon its place. He found the nail in the wall, and the little strings that supposed to hold the ornament intact. “I’ll get a broom and clean it up.” he told his friends. He still found it somehow unsettling.

Later that evening, the three friends were drinking, joking, telling stories and having a good time despite their initial fright caused by the decoration suddenly going kamikaze. All of them were a little bit tipsy, and Anna fell asleep on the couch next to Ben, while Caleb snuggled comfortably into one of the big and comfy armchairs opposite of his friends. Ben was also drifting off to dreamland, when suddenly he felt Anna nudging him. “Hey! Hey Ben, wake up!” she whispered. “What?” he groaned, opening his eyes. “Someone’s upstairs!” Anna answered. “Maybe it’s Santa.” Caleb mumbled. “I highly doubt it.” she cast a flat look at Caleb, who just smiled at her. Then they all heard the floorboards creaking. Someone was definitely walking around upstairs. “Stay here!” Ben ordered his friends, and picked up the keys and a pick from the fireplace. “I’ll check it out. If you hear anything and I’m not responding in a few minutes, call the police!” Caleb nodded, now fully awake. Anna wanted to protest, but then they heard a loud noise, like something heavy was falling over. Ben was at the top of the staircase in no time, and opened the door. It was pitch black, only a little light coming through from between the heavy curtains covering the balcony door. Even the roof windows were covered. Ben found all of the furniture and boxes containing the belongings of the house’s former owner intact, and no sign of intruding. He felt definitely cold though, like the heating was off. He shrugged and went back downstairs, locking the door behind him. “No one’s there.” he said, sitting back next to Anna. “Then what the hell did we just hear?” Caleb asked. Ben shook his head. “Maybe nothing. We were drinking, and there was this thing with the ornament falling off from the wall, it was a bit much at once. We’d better go to bed.” Anna looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost 3 in the morning. “Right.” she said. “See you tomorrow, guys!” Caleb also said goodnight, and went to the other guest room. Ben went to the study, that served as his own bedroom as long as he couldn’t empty the room upstairs. He had to admit to himself that he’d rather never sleep in that room.

_25 th December_

“Merry Christmas, guys!” Anna exclaimed handing over two little boxes to Caleb and Ben respectively. They opened them like the overgrown five-year-olds they were, and gave Anna her own presents. It was nothing special, just some trinkets for friends to remember each other by. A watch for Ben, a small ship in a bottle for Caleb, and a nice pair of earrings and a matching necklace for Anna, that turned out to be Selah’s idea. “Yeah, he told me you always eyed this set whenever you walked past it.” Ben admitted. “And I asked him if he’d mind if I’d buy it as a Christmas gift for you.” “So that’s why my neighbours were gossiping.” Anna said with faked umbrage. Ben helped her with the lock of the necklace, and she also donned her new earrings. “You look fabulous, Annie!” Caleb complimented. The day went by watching old movies and countless commercials on TV, stuffing their faces with the result of Mrs. Tallmadge’s finest Christmas recipes, and generally feeling like life isn’t that bad at all. They seemed to be generally forgetting the events of last night, which wasn’t entirely true. Ben remembered a disturbing little fact. When they arrived at the house, and he wanted to show Anna around upstairs, he couldn’t find the key to the door. Yet when they heard the scary noises, he could open the door like it was already unlocked. He just couldn’t wrap his head around it. A little later, Anna was doing the dishes while the guys were watching the news, and felt genuinely content, when the old radio suddenly just turned on.

_“…I set each stone_

_And I hammered each nail_

_This house is not for sale…”_

Anna jumped a few inches away, and turned it off. “Are you all right?” she heard Ben asking. He brought the remaining dirty dishes. “Yes, I just…” Anna didn’t know what to say. “I’m not a big fan of Bon Jovi.” Ben nodded. “I have to admit that I’d rather listen to him than the omnipresent Christmas music though.” he added. “Could you finish the dishes?” Anna asked. “I think I need to sit down for a while.” Ben took over the household chores, so Anna could panic in silence. She wasn’t even near the radio when it started screaming that cheesy rock song. _“This house is not for sale”_ Anna thought _“Like a warning or something. Way to turn an upbeat and generally positive song into something creepy."_

That evening she went to take a shower and maybe calm her nerves. Ben and Caleb were doing their respective Christmas calls to family and far-away friends, so she didn’t want to bother them. The hot water and fragrant candles soothed her tense nerves, and she felt much better when she turned the tap off. She reached out to grab her towel, when she remembered putting it down outside of the bathroom. Anna cursed, and called out. “Ben! Caleb! Could you guys hand my towel over? I don’t want to go outside! Hello!” After a while, she felt the fabric of her towel on her hand she was holding the shower cabin’s door with. She grabbed the towel, mumbled a “Thank you!” and proceeded to dry herself and dress up. Ben and Caleb were sitting in the kitchen, playing checkers at the table. “Hi, Annie! You’re done already?” the latter commented. Anna looked at him with a confused expression. “Of course I am.” she said. “Thanks for the help though.” she turned to Ben, who cast a same confused look at her than she did to Caleb. “Um… Your welcome, but why?” Anna had a disturbing thought creeping into her mind. “Are you guys saying that neither of you went over to the bathroom and gave me my towel when I asked for it?” Ben and Caleb looked at each other and the latter spoke. “Anna, we didn’t even hear you say a thing. We were here playing this damn match for at least half an hour.” The air was cold. Cold like the brewing snow storm outside.

 

_26 th December_

 

“The house is haunted.” One of them finally had to say it out loud. Anna was sure that if someone stood in front of her and told it to her face, without experiencing what she did in the last few days, she’d probably tell the person that they’re crazy. Ben tried to protest, to search for a scientific or logical explanation, but he couldn’t find any. Caleb did what he did best: he stood up, and went upstairs. “You say you hoarded the stuff of the previous owner in boxes up there, aren’t you, Benny?” he asked while climbing the stairs. “I did, but…” Ben ran after his friend, afraid that he might do something he wasn’t supposed to. “Caleb, you can’t go in there. The door’s locked, and I have no key.” Caleb stopped in front of the door, cast a dramatic look at Ben, then slowly pushed the door. It opened with a creepy creaking sound. “Looks like you either remembered wrong, or someone wants us to go inside.” he said. Anna stood behind Ben, not wanting to be left alone downstairs. “What are you waiting for?” she asked. “Let’s see what he had.” The room was still pitch black, despite the rather clear weather outside. Anna pulled the curtains, and illuminated the room’s slate and wood coloured interior. Ben and Caleb opened the boxes, and rummaged through various volumes of books, trinkets, and clothes until they found a single box that raised their interest. It was full of personal stuff, photographs of people, a driver’s license for a motorcycle, an ID card, and a file. Ben looked at Caleb, and fished the file out from under the other stuff. Anna took the photos, and looked at them, trying to find out their significance. There was a picture of a dark haired woman, smiling at the one taking the picture, and one of a man with a very characteristic face, smiling awkwardly while leaning to the doorframe of a similar house than the one they were in. Part of the address could be seen on it. Ben and Caleb read the file’s contents. It was a hospital report.

“John Graves Simcoe” Ben read the name on the report. “Violent, impulsive, narcissistic personality disorder, homicidal tendencies…” He looked up to Caleb, who shook his head. “We’re screwed.” the latter added. Ben flipped a page. “He was hospitalized after a bar fight in the local pub. He severely injured multiple people, and it took five police officers to bring him down.” Caleb peeked into the file from behind Ben’s shoulder, and kept reading. “He was examined by various psychiatrists, and found compos mentis*. He was placed under the care of one Edmund Hewlett. He lives nearby.” Anna raised her head when Caleb read the address. She glanced down on the photograph she still held in her hand. The awkwardly smiling man on the porch of a neat house. “We should visit him and ask around.” she said. Caleb looked at her. “Why? I know what we should do: pack our stuff, put it into Ben’s car, sit in said car and drive as far from this murdering bastard ghost as possible, while praying to God almighty that he won’t follow us.” Ben also looked at Anna. “Do you have something in mind?” he asked, while putting his hand on Caleb’s shoulder in an attempt of calming him. Anna nodded. “You see, I’m not a big fan of horror movies, or scary stories, or anything supernatural."she explained. "Right until now I thought it to be no more than children’s tales. But I think I remember something about ghosts being stuck here because of some unfinished business.” Caleb laughed. “Unfinished business? You can call being unable to kill us yet such, I give you that.”

Anna cast a dirty look at Caleb. “Maybe this Mr. Hewlett could explain to us what happened. We don’t know anything at all. Maybe there is a method to this madness, a way to expel this spirit from this house.” Ben looked at the hospital report in his hand. “All right, I’ll make a call tomorrow morning, and see what we can do.” Caleb hid his face in his palms. “If we’ll be alive tomorrow morning.” he added. Anna went down with the photographs in her hand, and Ben began to repack the opened and disturbed boxes. Caleb took the report and ran through it once again, finding himself to stare at the small ID picture of the deceased. “All right, Johnny.” he murmured. “Why are you keep bothering us instead of rotting peacefully in your coffin, like decent people?” He was waiting for a sign. A random object flying and shattering, a knock, a sudden drop of temperature, anything of the creepy stuff they had experienced the past days. But nothing happened. They both left the gloomy upper bedroom, and closed its door.

Caleb went to take a shower, while Anna was going through the photos over and over. There were no pictures of the house’s former owner, but he seemed to love making memories of his acquaintances. The same dark haired woman with those warm hazel eyes. The same awkward man. The house. The woods. A cat perching on the bench next to the front door. Anna was trying hard to figure out any significance or connection, but the only hunch she had that they somehow must identify the woman on the pictures. She might know more. She felt someone sitting next to her on the couch, and by the sinking of the cushions, she assumed it was Ben. She turned over to tell him her idea, but she froze in panic. She was looking at a dead man’s bloodied face. “You’re next.” the ghost stated on an eerily calm, echoing falsetto. Anna screamed, and the apparition vanished. She sprung up and rushed out from the living room, to crash into a similarly panicking Caleb, dressed only in a towel. “Annie, we have to get out of here!” he sounded desperate. “Where the hell is Benjamin?” Anna asked. “Where did he go?” Caleb glanced behind Anna. “What if the ghost got him too?” “What do you mean ‘too’?” she asked. Caleb looked confused. “It attacked me. I was full of cuts and gashes, and blood was everywhere…” he looked down and checked himself. “But… I’m fine now… Not a scratch.” “Just put on something, and let’s get the hell out of here!” Anna asked. “Let’s find Ben, and hijack his car if nothing else works.” Caleb nudged her. “Why the sudden change of mind? You were about to talk to the former caretaker of old John in-the-Grave Simcoe.” Anna shuddered. “I saw him. He told me I’m next.” Caleb nodded. “Yeah, I saw his ugly ass face too. He told me ‘You’re all gonna die’”.

Ben arrived back in the house to see his friends packing. “What happened? Why are you wrapping up?” he asked. “I refuse to sleep one more night in this house.” Anna stated. “Caleb and I both saw the ghost, it’s real, and pretty much out for blood.” Ben looked at her with a confused expression. “Out for blood?” “Ask Caleb.” Anna said, and walked out from the house. Snow was falling down, making a soft and cold blanket over the house and the town. Ben went over to Caleb, and asked him about his experiences, but got the same answer. “I’m not staying here. You know me Ben, I’m no wimp who gets scared by his own shadow. That dead bastard sliced me up like a piece of ham.” Ben saw no sign of any injury on his friend, but he also felt a growing tension and darkness inside the house. “All right. We’ll leave. But wait until I get my stuff.” He said. Caleb nodded. “We’ll be in the car.” Ben went to the study, where he set his temporary bedroom, and started to pack his bags. Then it hit him. This was his house now. He couldn’t just run away. He must do something to get rid of the ghost. He tossed his half-packed sports bag back under his bed. “No way.” he said out loud, both for himself and the ghost. “I’m not leaving.” He felt a chill on the back of his neck, and a presence behind him, as an unknown, echoing voice whispered in his ear. “Then you’ll going to end like the others. Many before you.” Ben turned around, but he saw no one. “I’m not afraid of you!” he shouted. All he got as an answer was a high-pitched, sarcastic laughter.

Caleb and Anna exchanged worried glances. “Where the hell is he, what takes him so long?” she asked. Caleb shook his head. “No idea. But I guess if he’s not hurrying up, we’ll be stuck here because of the snow.” Just as he finished his sentence, Benjamin appeared at the door, and went to the car. “We’re staying.” he stated on a tone that took no objections. “The road is closed by the snow and a storm is coming.” Anna held her face in her palms, Caleb scoffed. “So we can choose between getting killed by a ghost or being buried by snow and freeze to death. Wonderful.” Ben took his friends’ belongings, and brought them back to the house. “We’ll be moving into one room. All of us. So we can keep an eye on each other.” he said. “If the storm goes away tomorrow, we’ll find this Mr. Hewlett, and go visit him.” Anna glanced at the photographs scattered on the living room floor. They formed some kind of a pattern. She went closer to investigate while Ben and Caleb moved all their stuff and the camping bed to the guest room. The pictures were thrown in a manner to show only the ones with the dark haired woman. One of them was flipped over to show a date. “December 30.” Anna read out loud. She was startled by Caleb’s voice. “Better gather in one place.” She nodded, but took the picture with her. The hazel-eyed woman on it was happily smiling at the camera, holding up her right hand.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We continue where we left off.

Ohmygosh, so sorry for the long delay, but life just happened to get in the way of writing. Also... I know that the holidays are long over, but I made a picture for you guys I can't link anywhere else: [Giftart](https://kirassvaeri.deviantart.com/art/New-Year-New-Fanart-723561557)

* * *

 

_27 th December_

They spent the night mostly awake, listening to the storm outside, and the noises upstairs, the falling things in the living room, and the randomly opening doors. They thought they could get used to it, but it gave them chills every time. Ben glanced at his watch. It stopped at 23:55. The haunting went on until the break of dawn, when an eerie silence settled on the house. They could finally get some sleep before Caleb’s alarm went off, and they all went to the kitchen, to make something caffeine-related, that might help them keep awake. The house was snowed in right until the upper floor. “We’re stuck here.” Caleb grumbled. “Maybe it will melt later.” Ben tried to calm him, but he wasn’t sure about it either. Anna sipped her tea, and looked out the window, when she saw something that strongly resembled a dead man’s hand hitting the glass. Anna screamed and dropped her mug. Ben turned to her, so she pointed towards the grisly hand in the snow, but it vanished. Caleb cleaned up the mess she made, while Ben held her close. “It was just ‘Ol Johnny dicking with you!” Caleb said, standing next to them. “He has some sick sense of humour, if you ask me.” “We can’t leave.” Ben said. “Not until the snow melts.” Anna looked at him, wondering why he says something so obvious, but then she got it. Ben didn’t tell her or Caleb that they stuck, but the ghost, or whatever was so keen on driving them out. “I want to go back to sleep.” she mumbled into Ben’s sweater. “All right, let’s go back and get some rest.” he agreed. Caleb wanted to read something until Anna and Ben was shutting their eyes, so he took a look around on the shelves in the study. Poetry, military related books, history, some novels here or there, but mostly poetry. “Johnny was a true romantic. Who knew?” he commented, while flipping through the collected works of Byron. A small note fell from the book. It had a phone number on it. Caleb shrugged and picked it up, thinking it might be useful for them later. He read the poetry volume until its half, when suddenly Ben sprung up, claiming someone was trying to strangle him. “I’m not kidding, I could feel each individual finger…” he whispered, not wanting to wake Anna up. Caleb couldn’t believe how he didn’t notice anything. “We should check if the snow had melted.” he said. Ben nodded. He also needed some distraction from the disturbing things he experienced. “We shouldn’t leave Anna alone.” he added. “It will be no more than a few minutes, until we peek out to see how high the wall of snow is.It'll be okay.” Caleb whispered back while taking his coat and boots. Ben followed his friend, but glanced back at Anna’s sleeping form.

She woke up to a feeling of someone caressing her hair. She smiled to herself, thinking it must be Ben or Caleb, but suddenly the sensation stopped, and she was all alone. Anna slowly sat up and looked around. Neither Caleb nor Benjamin was present. “Ben? Caleb? Where are you?” she called out loud. “Be quiet!” the creepy, whispering ghost-voice came as an answer. “He’s here…” Anna was shocked just like before, but she managed to gather her remaining composure and asked “Who’s here?” The apparition stood before her and gestured for her to stay silent. “He’s watching.” he whispered, then looked towards the ceiling. Anna heard footsteps from upstairs. Then she heard the door open and Caleb and Ben’s voices, as they were discussing something excitedly. Anna rushed out from the study, and stopped in front of the two men, trembling and covering herself with the thick blanket. “What’s wrong?” Caleb asked. Anna shook her head, and looked at the ceiling. No sound of footsteps could be heard. “We gotta get out!” she hung her head. “All right.” Ben said. “The snow cleared, and the weather warmed up a bit. Gather your stuff, and we’re off.” Anna turned back, but then she stopped. “Ben, we must find out what happened here.” she said. “If you ever going to return to this house, you must find a way to end the haunting.” Ben felt a chill go down his spine and not in a good way. “I’m not sure if I ever want to return here.” he confessed. “Then what?” Anna asked. “Sell it to some other unfortunate soul, who might also flee and sell it to another, and another, and it will never end?” Caleb looked at them, shook his head and packed his bags into the car’s trunk. He noticed something, so he went to investigate, despite his better judgement. He could hear Anna and Ben arguing from inside, as he walked around the building. He saw something that resembled human footprints, but they were unidentifiable, being half melt-away with the snow. Caleb hummed. Now that was something his mind could process. Someone was snooping around the house. Or that could also be just another trick by that damned ghost. Caleb couldn’t decide, but he knew for sure that he didn’t want to stay in the house for one more night. Ben and Anna finally came out to the car, so he could tell them what he found. Ben wanted to see too, so they went back. The prints were still there, though more and more unrecognizable as the snow melted in the wan winter sun. “All right, I’ll tell you what we’ll do.” Ben took a deep breath. “We’ll go and pay a visit to this Mr. Hewlett, ask around what happened in this house, and also report the disturbances to the local police.” Caleb laughed. “And what shall we tell them? ‘Sorry officer, but this creepy ghost keeps on bothering us’?” “No.” Ben explained. “But there’s footprints all around. Maybe we do have some problems that aren’t otherworldly.” Anna sat in the car. “What are we waiting for?” Ben and Caleb followed her example, and they started the engine. As the distance between them and the house grew, they felt relief.

 

* * *

 

Edmund Hewlett was a lonely, awkward, bookish man, and he was completely struck by the sudden guests appearing on his porch. Both Ben and Caleb found the older man to be offish, but Anna thought that he’s just not used to company. “So what can I help you with, Mr. Tallmadge?” Hewlett asked, as he sat down opposite of the couch where the trio took seats. “It’s a very strange case, Mr. Hewlett.” Ben answered. “You see, I recently bought an estate on the address of 218th Pine Avenue.” “Ah, I see.” Hewlett inserted. “You’re the new neighbour then.” he smiled at Ben on a short, official manner. “Yes, I partly came to visit you as an introduction” Ben nodded. “But there is also a matter I’d like to ask your help with.” Hewlett clenched his jaw, and squinted at the three young people. “What is it that you require?” he asked. Ben glanced over to Caleb, who just raised his brow, then to Anna, who sighed and said. “We found the belongings of the former owner, and several photographs depicting you.” Hewlett’s face darkened. “We also found a hospital report regarding the man, where it said that you were his caretaker.” Caleb added. Hewlett nodded, then he stood up, and went out to return with an envelope. He handed it over to Anna. “These are just old photos. Go on, take a look!” he encouraged. She opened the envelope, and took the batch of pictures in her hand. There were a lot. About the same hazel-eyed woman, who seemed so happy, about Hewlett, and there were also a few pictures of an alive, but still ghostly pale Simcoe. Anna noticed that the man was always so serious, except when the woman was with him. He seemed to be happy too. One particular picture caught her. It read “Elizabeth, 30th December, 2013.” It was the same Anna brought with her, the one where the woman on the picture proudly presented her hand with a ring. She noted to herself to ask about it later. Meanwhile, Ben was asking about the hospital report. “Why did you have to take care of him? Were you two related?” he asked. Hewlett shook his head. “No, we weren’t… John was my friend.” He was saying it like he kept on repeating it so many times it became like a broken record. “He always was a difficult person, except when Lizzy was around.” he let out a small smile. “She’s like a walking ray of sunlight.” Anna looked at Hewlett with curiosity. “Is this Lizzy the woman on these photographs?” she asked and he nodded. “She lives downtown, in her studio.” Edmund added. “She’s a painter. Though I must ask if you plan to visit her, to omit mentioning my name.” Caleb raised his brow. “Why is that?” he asked. Hewlett let out a small sigh. These youngsters were asking many questions he’d rather leave unanswered, but he thought it was about time he gets it out of his system. “We’re not in the best of terms, Lizzy and I. Ever since John died.” He told the trio. Ben began to put the puzzle together. “She’s blaming you of his death?” Edmund shrugged. “Wouldn’t it be true? I was his caretaker and wasn’t even near when it happened.” The three changed looks between each other. Anna spoke again. “Why? What happened?” Hewlett was staring at one of the photos depicting him and Simcoe in a rare moment when they both were in their lighter moods. It was taken by himself, and the angle he had to hold the camera to be able to capture both their silly smiles made the picture a bit distorted. “I told you already about Simcoe being a difficult person. Difficult to work with, difficult to get along with, and also difficult to reconcile with if he’d ever gave in to negotiations instead of forcing you to capitulate.” He picked the picture up, and felt the ever present pang in his heart, as he looked at the goofy smile on his departed frenemy’s face. “That Christmas, we drank a bit too much and had a fight. It was about something silly, like poetry or politics or work ethics, I don’t remember. I was tired, he was drunk and medicated, and I should not let him go home alone. But I did. And that was the last time I saw him alive. He called me on New Year’s Eve, but I didn’t pick the phone up. Later I learned he died that evening, shortly before midnight.”

Hewlett put the photograph down, back into the pile with the rest. “I never really could find out what happened exactly on that fateful night.” he added, looking at the three sitting on his sofa. “The police declared that he committed suicide, but neighbours swore that they heard sounds of struggle.” Caleb furrowed his brow. “Suicide?” he asked. “Forgive me, but I highly doubt that.” Ben also shook his head. “I agree… According to what we know about him, this Mr. Simcoe doesn’t look like a suicidal one to me either.” Hewlett nodded. “I know. There is something fishy, and my guess is that the police just wanted to end the investigation quickly. The killer was never found, John was hated by nearly everyone, so they didn’t really strain themselves to solve the case.” he sighed again. “Well, that is my opinion on the matter, of course. There is a possibility that I’m wrong though.” Ben looked out the window to the already darkened forest. He was thinking of the house and its relative distance from the rest of the neighbourhood. It was close enough to be seen among the trees, but too far away for anything unusual to be spotted unless looked for intentionally. Yet Hewlett claimed multiple neighbours heard struggle. Ben had to agree with the older man. Something was indeed fishy with the story. Either Hewlett’s, or the police’s. He heard Anna shift on her cushion, and found her looking at him questioningly. Caleb and Hewlett were exchanging theories about unexplained events. Ben stood up, and helped Anna to her feet. “Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Hewlett.” he said politely. “Your welcome.” Edmund answered. “If you ever come around, feel free to stop by again!” Anna smiled at him, Ben mirrored it and nodded, while Caleb shook hands with the older man, then the trio left the friendly house, to return to their dark, silent, and definitely haunted one.

 

Around 3 A.M. the usual series of disturbing events began, this time with Anna hearing the sound of someone softly humming an unsettling tune, she realized was an old song. She carefully got up, glanced over to the sleeping Ben and Caleb, then walked out from the guest room they were all crammed in. The sound of singing came from the living room.

_“… Seasons don’t fear the Reaper_

_Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain_

_We can be like they are_

_Come on baby_

_Don’t fear the Reaper_

_Baby take my hand_

_Don’t fear the Reaper_

_We’ll be able to fly_

_Don’t fear the Reaper_

_Baby I’m your man…”_

She was prepared to see the former owner’s bloodied apparition, but the singing stopped as soon as Anna entered the room. A single picture of the woman called Lizzy was on the coffee table. It was partly burned. Anna took it in her hand, and tried to figure out what happened to the photo, but then she heard a loud knock on the wall, followed by many more. One of the windows were shaken like something was about to break it, so Anna dropped the picture and ran back to the guest room. The loud knocking stopped. Anna felt cold, so she pulled the blanket up and wrapped it around herself. She heard footsteps in front of the guest room door, then heard them distancing, and just when her strained nerves calmed enough to let her fall asleep, she heard that damn song again. Like the creepiest lullaby she ever had to listen to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I'm terribly sorry for the long delays between chapters, but sadly my life is in a pretty hectic and bureaucratic hell, so I don't even know how/when/if I can finish this story and the rest at all. -_-;; I know I want to, now if only life would just stop screwing me for a day, that would be fantastic...
> 
> "Don't Fear the Reaper" is an ancient song originally by Blue Oyster Cult, and it is indeed the creepiest love song I've ever heard (I prefer HIM's cover though).


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna, Ben and Caleb pays a visit to Lizzy, and ask her about the events of a New Year's Eve two years past. They also learn a thing or two about their new neighbourhood.

_28 th December._

 

The morning was chilly, so much they could see the small clouds of their breaths. Ben went out to see what happened to the heating, and returned with the bad news that power was out in the house. “All right, that’s it.” Caleb stood up and put one more sweater on, while tying his boots and reaching for his coat. “I suggest we just leave this haunted shithole, and settle in the nearest pub.” Ben also took his coat, while Anna washed her face and brushed her teeth in the bathroom. She just finished, and wanted to dry her hands with a towel when the tap turned on and a black goo started to pour from it. She fled the scene, and was more than eager to follow Caleb’s plan on settling into a bar and getting their morning coffee and breakfast someplace warm and not populated by the angry spirits of dead people. “I wonder what happened that night.” Ben mused while looking at the contents of his paper cup. “I mean come on, this whole damn thing reeks of fish.” Caleb was occupied emptying his pockets, and he found the note with the phone number. “Hey, Tallboy…” he said, pushing the small piece of paper in front of Ben “Does this look familiar for you?” Ben took the note and read the numbers, then he raised his brow and fished his own cell-phone out. “It’s the phone number of my real estate agent.” he said. “Where did you find it?” Caleb shrugged. “It fell out from one of the books in the house. Thought it might be important.” Anna wasn’t even listening to them; she was deep in her thoughts about last night’s haunting. The partly burned photograph, the song, the things she learned about the house’s former resident from Hewlett… “We should go and see this mysterious Miss Lizzy.” She told her friends. “Maybe she can shed some more light on parts of this strange story that’s still in the dark.” Caleb put his paper cup down. “Never thought coffee and cream would bring the poet out of you Annie.” he joked. “No, it must be the stress and the unexplained events that keep me from having a decent sleep.” she replied aridly. “What do you say, Ben?” she turned to the third member of their crew. Ben just finished his own espresso and the single, overcooked waffle on his paper plate, and nodded. “Fine with me. We don’t really have anything else to do now, are we?”

 

The downtown studio they were told about was indeed a place they couldn’t miss. The contemporary building had huge windows for the perfect amount of light, and it was straight out from an architecture magazine. The trio stopped on the porch, not really knowing what to do now that they were there. Fragments of an old song could be heard from inside, so it was certain that someone was at home. Ben stepped forward after a few minutes, and rang the bell. He cleared his throat, and greeted the small, black-clad woman they all knew from the pictures they have found.  “Sorry love, but I don’t take commissions right now. Try again in January.” she smiled and said interrupting Ben’s speech. Her expressed British accent struck Anna as being different from what she imagined. “Sorry, but there’s a misunderstanding.” she went to the rescue. “We’re not here to buy a painting. We’d like to ask you a few questions regarding a person you knew.” Lizzy’s features hardened. “Oh, is that so? What, are you journalists? Or work for the police?” Anna shook her head. “My friend here” she gestured to Ben “bought a house on 218th Pine Avenue. I’m sure the address is familiar for you.” “That’s John’s house.” Lizzy said on a saddened tone. “I never knew it was for sale.” Anna glanced over to Ben, who spoke. “We really don’t want to intrude, but we found some belongings of the former owner, including photographs of you, his friend, and many things I’d like to give away to people for whom they have meaning.” Lizzy nodded. Ben continued. “And while we’re at it, I’d really like to ask you about the former owner of the house.” The small woman eyed them with her piercing hazel gaze, but then she moved away and opened the door. “All right. Come on in!”

 

The studio was even more impressive from the inside. Many landscape and floral paintings decorated the walls, in various styles from classic to post-modern. They followed Lizzy’s lead through a bead-curtain to a cosy kitchen built together with a spacious living room. She offered them seats on the couch and chairs, while rummaging through her cabinets for some snacks. “So, why do you want to talk about John?” she asked, putting a tray with cups and a kettle of freshly made tea on the coffee table. Anna glanced at her male friends and found their confusion and embarrassment funny, so she took the lead of the conversation. “As I said, we found his belongings, and Ben would like to know the past of the house.” she answered. It wasn’t entirely true, but Anna thought they shouldn’t bother the woman with the story of her late beau haunting the place. “You probably found his personal documents too, I guess.” Lizzy sat down, pouring tea for all of them. “We did.” Ben nodded. “He was put under the care of his friend.” Caleb said, but then he remembered Hewlett’s request of not mentioning his name to Lizzy. He found that his curiosity was bigger than his guilt of breaking their promise. “Said friend thinks you blame him for your John’s demise.” The air froze, but then Lizzy chuckled. “He told you that?” She put her cup on the table. “Poor, poor Ed. His guilt and self-loathing must truly get the best of him if he thinks I blame him for anything.” Ben raised his brow. “You don’t?” he asked. “Of course not!” Lizzy exclaimed. “John’s death was not Ed’s fault.” she silenced, and played with the ring on her right hand’s finger involuntarily. “You know, we were engaged, John and I.” she mused. “Ed was supposed to be his best man. But we had to delay the wedding from the original date of 30th December to somewhere early January, because I had to fly back home to care for my aunt who called me and told me she was ill.” Anna noted the date. It was the same with the one written on the back of the photo about Lizzy. “When I came back I was faced with the fact that my fiancé had died.” Lizzy continued her story. “The investigation went on and on without any results on who killed John, and why, or if it was indeed a suicide as they initially stated.” she sighed deeply. “I know I will sound like some crazy conspiracy-theorist, but John didn’t commit suicide. I saw his body. Those cuts and gashes couldn’t be made by himself. Someone killed him, but the investigators wanted to end the case quickly.” Caleb flinched at the mention of cuts and gashes, but he also started to think. “Sorry, but why would the police label an obvious homicide as a suicide? Was your fiancé hated by everyone that much?” he asked. Lizzy looked at him, and shrugged. “I’ll be damned if I know.” she answered. Ben dropped his proverbial two cents in. “Mr. Hewlett told us that your fiancé was a ‘difficult person’ to get along with, also he wasn’t too popular around here, according to his hospital report after a bar fight.” Lizzy rolled her eyes. “There is some grain of truth in that I have to admit.” she answered. “But there’s also something else behind the whole thing I can’t seem to put my finger on.” she kept playing with her ring. “You said you found pictures?” she smiled. “So that means he kept them. Silly John.” To the trio’s inquiry, she explained. “It was our habit, making memories. Most of them were made by Ed or me, but John did a few too. He never liked to be photographed, said it would steal his soul. My guess he was just so self-conscious and thought he’s not photogenic. He was picked on because of his hair a lot.” She silenced, and glanced down on her ring. “Three years passed, and I still miss him.” Ben and Caleb exchanged looks and Anna was staring at the ring on Lizzy’s finger. She couldn’t help but think about her own marriage, and how it was deemed to fall apart from day one. It seemed that everyone she met was cursed or something. Abe and Mary, though happy on the outside, was anything but on the inside. Selah and herself, they knew it will end like this someday. They barely even talked. Caleb and Ben had on-off relationships for as long as she knew them. The last one ended particularly badly for Ben, that girl Sarah, died and Ben was a suspect for at least a month, before the police found the real culprit. As Anna looked at him, she saw the painful familiarity on his features. Anna was sure that he needs no more convincing. He wants to solve this mystery just as much as she wanted. Only his reasons were different. Where Ben felt familiarity, and a sense of solidarity with Lizzy, Anna felt pity. She pitied the woman who was still in love with a madman’s ghost. If they could solve the case she reckoned, both the ghost and his widowed bride would be able to move on. So she wanted to help both her friends and the sad, bitter woman in front of her. “Could you guys do me a favour?” Anna heard Lizzy’s voice and it distracted her train of thought. Ben nodded. “Of course, what do you need?” Lizzy sighed, and she also presented a thick envelope full of photographs. She rummaged through them, until she found one particular picture. It was about all three of them, John in the middle, embraced by both Edmund and Lizzy on each side. She gave it to Ben. “Please just give this to Ed, and tell him I’m not mad at him. Also, I’d like to invite him and you, if you don’t mind, to join me on this New Year’s Eve.” The trio exchanged looks, and then Ben spoke. “If my friends don’t have any objections, I’ll gladly accept the invitation, Miss Gwillim.” “Lizzy, please.” she smiled at them. “And I hope you can find out whatever happened that night, three years ago.” Ben gave an awkward smile, feeling that people in this neighbourhood hide lots of secrets. “Of course.” he said, nodding to Lizzy. She asked about them, what they do, why did Ben want to move around here after finishing university. Not another word was spoken about the mysterious case of John Simcoe’s murder or presumed suicide.

As they left the studio, Anna felt relieved and she saw that Ben was also breathing more lightly. Caleb was the first to speak. “I guess we’re the new Ghostbusters then.” As he started humming the tune of the movie’s theme song, Anna burst out laughing. “ _If there’s something strange/In your neighbourhood/Who ya gonna call?”_ Caleb sang, and looked at Ben and Anna, who were just smiling and shaking their heads. “Come on! Don’t be party poopers!”

Their mood significantly darkened, as they got closer to the house on 218. Pine Avenue. The weather became chilly again, with the evening closing in, and snow started to fall. As they stopped the car next to the house, Caleb could swear that he saw the lights upstairs on, but power was out in the house when they left. “Who knows, maybe it was just a temporary shutdown because of the weather.” Ben said. “Whatever the case, I’m glad that we’ll at least have heating.” Anna also looked up to the window, and saw the tall frame of a man. She couldn’t see his face, but he was gone in a blink. The lights also went out. Inside the house was warm, but the air felt heavier, and lights seemed dimmer. Anna wondered if the black goo that she saw flowing from the bathroom tap is still there, or if she’ll hear another creepy rendition of a 1970’s hit song that night. None of these filled her with enthusiasm. Ben looked around to check if everything was working, while Caleb put on a kettle with water to boil. That’s when he smelled something awful. It was something like rotten meat and mould. He checked every corner, under every counter, expecting to find a dead mouse or rat or some other small animal decomposing there, but he found none. As he passed the fridge, it hit him like a truck. The smell came from inside. Caleb groaned and took a deep breath before opening the fridge’s door to see the disgusting hell that got unleashed inside it. All of their food was spoiled and teeming with maggots, though they couldn’t see a single fly anywhere near in 200 miles. What drinks they kept in the fridge were busted as well. “Guys, I think you need to see this! Or smell. Or both!” he yelled, and his friends came, only to turn away and leave the kitchen at once. “Would you shut the damn thing?” Anna asked. “It’s reeking!” Ben checked the cabinets and found even their tea and coffee and other supplies covered in mould too. “We have literally nothing left.” he stated. “All right, it’s not too late, we can order a pizza, or better, leave and have dinner somewhere.” Caleb said. “And how about we never come back?” Anna shook her head. “We promised that we see into the cold case. We can’t leave until we can’t solve the mystery and get rid of this annoying ghost once and for all.” Caleb sighed. “And you really think that he’ll move on after we finish our own little Scooby Doo investigation? My guess that this bastard enjoys tormenting any unfortunate soul, who ends up in this haunted madhouse.” If only to emphasize his words, one of the cabinet doors slowly opened, and then suddenly and loudly closed shut. Caleb nearly jumped out of his boots, and fled the kitchen, with Anna on his heels. She thought she heard a low, high-pitched chuckle. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and his friends turn to the local authorities, and find a helpful hand in their investigation in the form of a police officer, who also thinks that something's fishy with the Simcoe case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meet my - hopefully not too obnoxious - OC, I imported from my original work, "Paranormal Detectives", called Janet Reese.  
> Also, some icky-undead apparition warning in case you are squeamish, along with details of a murder case. Have fun! ^^

Aaand just to delay the story a little bit further, I committed another one of those crappy drawings, you might want to check out [here.](https://kirassvaeri.deviantart.com/art/Wrong-Way-717223002)

* * *

 

 

_December 29._

After they’ve cleaned the spoiled food out and gathered in the guest room, they decided to go to bed early. All of them were exhausted, so it didn’t take long for them to drift off in sleep. Anna woke up to someone or something dragging her out of bed. She screamed, and woke Ben and Caleb as well. “What’s wrong?” Ben asked, Anna couldn’t answer, but she just pointed at the shadowy figure standing in front of her. As soon as Ben turned the lights on, it disappeared. “He dragged me…” she muttered. Caleb hugged her. Anna noticed a large bruise on his face. “And it seems like he hit you.” Caleb raised his brow. “He did? I didn’t notice it.” Ben glanced at his friend’s face and he confirmed that he got blackeye. “That bastard wouldn’t fight me while I’m awake though…” Caleb grumbled. “But there’s no doubt he’s getting bolder.” Ben added. “There’s only two days left until New Year’s Eve.” Anna said, covering herself with her thick blanket. The air was cold like heating was off again. Ben looked over to the alarm clock, but it was frozen at 23:55. Every night, all clocks, analog or digital, stopped at that time. “I guess the worst of it is still ahead of us.” he grumbled, and followed Anna’s example. Caleb went out to get some ice on his purpled face. He saw something in the living room, so he peeked through the arch that separated the room from the stairs that led to the upper bedroom. There was someone sitting on the couch in the dark, with one of his legs put on the coffee table. Caleb saw copper-red hair illuminated by the moon's light and a dark green jacket on broad shoulders. As he took a step forward, the man on the couch turned towards him. It took all of his cool not to scream, when Caleb saw his face… or rather what was left of it. One opaque, arctic blue eye was staring at him, the other was missing, along with the apparition’s facial muscles and skin, leaving only a bare skull. A few sinews kept the lower jaw in its place, and as the ghost tilted its head, it moved aside like a morbid sneer. Caleb ran, and shut the guest room door tight behind him. He also heard the ghost’s chuckle as he ran. Dawn was still long hours away.

Anna and Caleb fell back asleep after a while, and Ben was thinking, wide awake and aware of the unsettling noises and whispers he failed to understand. He tried to shut the usual symptoms of the haunting out, and was pondering what to do next. He found a lot of things very strange. First of all, the investigation about Simcoe’s case. The man was obviously not committed suicide, yet everyone seemed to believe what the police said, and no pressure against their judgement or awareness of the unfair treatment of the victim was raised. Or was it? Ben surely didn’t look into the case too deeply yet, he reckoned he might get some new information if he keeps on asking around. He got up and went outside not to bother his friends, but then he changed his mind. He definitely wanted to avoid the living room, or the upstairs bedroom, for those places seemed to act like hotspots for the unnerving paranormal activity. Ben saw motion from the corner of his eye, heard the usual whispers, and the upstairs room door opening slowly. Ben ran to the study, and closed the door shut. He turned the lights on, and rummaged through the desk to find some paper and a pen, to note down what he planned to do. It calmed his nerves somehow. He only looked up once, feeling a presence near him, but saw nothing unusual, so he turned back to his work. He barely noticed that there was light outside and the haunting was ceased.

The others were up early, Ben saw some more bruises and scratches on Caleb, but Anna seemed to be unharmed, if tired and grumpy from sleep deprivation. As he passed the living room, Ben noticed something, and called his friends to come and see. The walls were full of writings. It read “December 31”, and was made with something red. “Is that blood?” Anna asked and tried to get as far away from the walls as possible. Caleb made pictures of the writings with his phone, along with Ben, then all of them left the house. As they were going to the car, the radio in the kitchen turned on again, playing Metallica’s “Fade to Black”. “Now we have something to show the authorities.” Ben sighed, starting the engine. Caleb scrolled through the pictures he made. He saw the ghost on one of them, leaning to the fireplace and playing with a nasty looking bayonet, that seemed to be rusty, or covered in blood. “Hey Annie, look at this!” he handed the phone over to Anna, who frowned and made a distressed sound. “Should we show all of these to someone?” she asked. “They might just think we made it up.” Ben nodded. “Anna’s right, we shouldn’t say a word about the haunting, just tell the police that someone vandalized the house during the night. We can also report the footprints we saw yesterday.”

The local police department was in downtown, as Ben noticed, fairly close to Lizzy’s home/studio. They all went in, and were waiting for someone they could talk with. Being the middle of a holiday season, and in a small town, they were surprised to see the precinct being stuffed with folks. Caleb went forward, his friends followed. As they presented their problem to the receptionist, a woman in uniform approached them. She was fairly tall, with her raven black hair clipped to a short but fashionable hairdo, and her green eyes had the same piercing stare they saw only on Lizzy and Ed’s photograph works. “Sorry to interrupt, but I heard you had a vandal in 218. Pine Avenue.” She said. “We had someone break in and paint the living room walls with a text.” Ben explained. “We made some pictures.” The officer nodded, and gestured for the trio to follow her. “I have nothing better to do, so I might be of assistance with regards to your vandal.” she told them on a neutral tone. “Did you know that you’re not the first to report a case of vandalism there in the middle of the holiday season?” she added, while looking at the pictures Caleb made. “It happened before?” Ben asked. “Last year, and the year before that.” the officer answered. “I wasn’t aware of the house being inhabited after the death of the former owner and before I moved in.” Ben replied in surprise. The woman with the cold green eyes looked at him. “Mr. Arnold tried to sell or rent it for many people. But after a few weeks, all of them moved out.” She turned her gaze back to Caleb’s phone. “The text is the same every year.” she commented. “Wait, wait…” Caleb inserted. “You say that the house was inhabited by many folks who just fled it after a few weeks? Why? Did they ever tell any reasons?” The officer shrugged. “As far as I know, it had nothing to do with the house itself.” Something told Ben that she’s not telling the truth. Anna was sitting silently in opposite of the officer, and was analysing her features. Somewhere in her late thirties, early forties, practical and straightforward, she reminded her of her mother. Anna also peeked under the policewoman’s upheld arm, to see her name on the left pocket on her uniform jacket. “Excuse me officer Reese, but may I ask something about a case that also connected to the house?” she inserted. The older woman turned to her, as she just noticed that she’s there. “About which case?” she inquired. Anna took a deep breath, and hoped for the best. “The case of the former owner, John Graves Simcoe.” Reese frowned. “Nasty case, but since the investigation is over, I can tell some of the details. Why do you want to know…” she asked, but then she looked at Caleb’s phone. The picture with the ghost and the bayonet was displayed on it. Reese turned the phone off, gave it back to Caleb, and stood up. “Excuse me, but I think we have to interrupt this little chat we had.” she said, and ordered the trio to leave. She personally escorted them out of the building, but before Ben and his company could sit in their car, she put her hand on Ben’s shoulder. “I’ll explain everything later. But please, don’t come back to the precinct! At least, not with this case.” she handed a business card over to Ben. “Call me today after six pm!” she said, then went back to the precinct. “Well, that was weird.” Caleb commented from the back seat. Anna and Ben got in the car too, and left the police station.

“So what now?” Anna asked, pulling her jacket closer on her. It was freezing, and snow was sparking in the sunlight. Ben drove them to the real estate agency. “Let’s hope Mr. Arnold is working, or that they’re here.” he answered aridly. They got out of the car, and went over to the house that doubled as the office for the business. They were greeted by the smiling face of Mrs. Arnold, who seemed to be in the middle of decorating the place for New Year’s Eve, along with their secretary, Abigail. “What brought you here, Mr. T.?” the latter asked, then she immediately forgot about Ben, when Anna walked in. Turned out, Abby and her were friends in high school. “How can you stand this cold?” Anna asked, after hugging Abby and chatting about not seeing each other in ages. “It’s fine if you dress really warm.” she answered. “And what brought you here? Thought you were moving to Connecticut after you got married.” Anna shook her head. “It just didn’t work.” she commented sadly. “We decided to get separated. Not divorced yet, but both Selah and I needed time alone to think.” she glanced over to Ben, who was talking with Peggy. “Ben invited me over to celebrate Christmas, and Selah agreed that I should accept and spend some time with our mutual friends. He’s probably alone, as always.” Abby patted Anna on the shoulder. “I can’t even imagine how hard that could be.” Anna smiled, and her mind wandered to lighter grounds. They kept on chattering, while Caleb looked around, searching for anything that might help them with their investigation, but found nothing. He went over to Ben, and pulled him over. “Hey, I don’t mind a little friendly chit-chat, but don’t forget about our very own Angry Johnny, haunting your new place. Time for asking around. Even the policewoman said the real-estate agency is hiding something.” Ben nodded. “Okay, I’ll ask, but I couldn’t just attack poor Mrs. Arnold with questions about a haunted house.” They went back to the living room, and sat beside the chatting women. Anna seemed relieved, even the dark circles around her eyes vanished. “Sorry Peggy, but could we ask some questions about the house?” Ben asked. “It seem to have a rather dark past.” Peggy looked confused, but then she nodded. “The one on Pine Avenue! Yes, it has a shady history. Also, for some reason, everyone who rented it or wanted to buy it before you, changed their minds. Benedict often said that he thinks that place is cursed.” Ben looked at Caleb. “Please, tell us what you know!” he asked Peggy, and she looked around like she was afraid of something or someone. “I… I don’t think I can, Benjamin. Sorry.” she said. Anna intervened. “Are you afraid of something?” she asked. Abby went out of the room, but cast a reassuring glance at Peggy. She sighed, and shifted on her seat. “All right, but please, I beg you, not to tell my husband that I spoke with you about this. Ever.” Ben nodded. “I promise.” he said. Peggy cleared her throat, and gathered her thoughts. “It all started with Benedict and John meeting in that pub. They became – I don’t know friends maybe? All I knew that they were hanging out with each other frequently, when Benedict’s work allowed it.” she stared out the window. “Then John got engaged with that painter, Elizabeth. It was rumoured that they will move out from town. Benedict made an agreement with Simcoe, but it seemed that he changed his mind. It was about the house; he didn’t want to sell it. I heard them arguing, because John was over here that day.” Caleb furrowed his brow and glanced over at Ben. “They stopped talking after that.” Peggy ended her story. “Then one week later, John died. Since we are the only real-estate agency in town, and he didn’t have any heirs, the town gave the right to put the house for sale to us.” She looked at the trio. “I know what you think, and I have to admit that it crossed my mind as well. But the investigation ended with the result of Simcoe’s death being a suicide.” Anna hummed. “And you believe it? For what we have seen and heard about the man in question, he didn’t seem like the suicidal type.” Peggy shook her head. “I don’t know what to believe anymore.” she confessed. “I knew he had mental illness, was hospitalised and went to therapy because of it, and I even begged Benedict to stay away from him. He was creepy. I didn’t even believe that he was engaged with someone for long, then I met Elizabeth once. She was creepy too, so I guess they were a good match.”

* * *

 

Meanwhile the trio was in the Arnold residence, officer Janet Reese rang the bell on her friend’s front door. “Liz, we need to talk.” she said, when Lizzy opened the door. “If it’s about the new folks in John’s old house, I have met them already.” she answered. Janet went after Elizabeth, who led her to the same spacious living room where she had her little talk with Ben and company. “They went to the police station with the same report of vandalism like the ones before them.” Janet told Lizzy, who sat opposite of her. “They also showed me pictures.” Lizzy tilted her head. “And? Did anything interesting show up on them?” Janet nodded. “He… I don’t know if the pictures were tampered with or not, but I saw him on one of them those kids made in his living room.” Lizzy nodded. “So it’s happening again.” she commented. “What do you think, how much they know?” she turned to Janet. The policewoman made an unsure expression. “Beats me, I didn’t have the time to question them yet. But I will do that later tonight.” Lizzy nodded. “Maybe this time we’ll find some evidence too.” Janet smiled at her bitterly. “Let’s hope.” Three years ago, Janet Reese and Elizabeth Gwillim were no more than a detective and a presumed witness. Janet wanted to investigate the case as a murder, but she got pressure from above, that forced her to end the investigation prematurely. She knew, just as Lizzy, that her fiancé’s death wasn’t a suicide. Someone killed the man, and had protection, serious enough to have it swept under the rug. People, who knew nearly nothing about the case bought the suicide tale, and Janet knew from Lizzy that no matter how hard she tried to protest the end result, she found herself in dead ends, or worse, some people told her in her face that she should stop pressing the matter. The detective and the widowed bride met once again, and Janet promised Lizzy to help her find out the truth, even if it takes years. They both knew that nothing they could present now would suffice as evidence in the cold case, but at least they could calm their conscience. “I should take them to see the files and the evidence of the case.” Janet mused. “I know if we’d get caught I’ll be in trouble, but I want to know what they know. That could be a good way to find out.” Lizzy nodded. “I’ll leave it to you.” she added. “All I want is justice for John.” They sat in silence for a short while before Janet standing up to leave. “I better get going.” she told Lizzy. “I expect a call from our amateur paranormal investigators in an hour, so I want to get through the cold case to provide them some morsels of information.” Lizzy escorted her out, but stopped her in front of the door. “Oh, before I forget… Could you visit Edmund for me? Poor soul still thinks I blame him for John’s death, and he just never answers the phone when I call. I don’t know why he avoids me, but it’s been three years.” Janet nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.” she said, then left the studio. She went back to the station, went through the old files of the case, and just when she finished and put the file down to her desk, she heard her cellphone ringing.

Ben, Anna and Caleb were more confused than ever. Mr. Arnold came home not long after Peggy finished her interpretation of the Simcoe case, and his demeanour was best described as “cold as the weather outside”. He asked Peggy if she started the New Year’s Eve party prematurely, in a pretty sarcastic manner, so Ben changed his mind about asking him on the matter of his house. His house. Ben found the term odd. As soon as the paranormal activity started, he couldn’t think of that place as his own. It still belonged to John Simcoe, no matter if that man was eaten by maggots long ago. Ben could sense his presence even in daytime, as he did while he made a to-do list in the study. He saw the picture on Caleb’s phone. He knew the spirit of the dead man wants them out of his former home. And frankly, the more Ben found out about the house’s past, the more he wanted to leave. He no longer cared about the plans he had or the money he invested in the house. He was sure he’ll sell the property to another unfortunate soul, but first he wanted to get rid of Simcoe’s ghost, if that was even possible. He wasn’t a big expert of the supernatural, all he knew was from a TV-show by the same name, and from the scary stories Abe always told around the campfire when they were kids and away camping with school or relatives. After they left the Arnold residence, Ben called officer Reese. She appeared to be the only one who was willing to help them in any way.

 

“Do you think she knows something?” Ben heard Caleb ask, while they were waiting in the parking lot next to the police station. “I have no idea.” Tallmadge answered. “But she acted pretty weird when she saw the picture on your phone.” Anna thought she also adds her proverbial two cents into the conversation. “She must know something she is not quite supposed to tell us, I feel.” She just finished her sentence when all three of them noticed officer Reese’s form approaching. She hurried her footsteps, and ushered the trio into the building quickly. The receptionist didn’t even raise his head from the magazine he was reading, while they passed him by. Reese led them down to the evidence locker. “You can’t come in with me, but I can take the box containing what we gathered in the crime scene out.” she commented, then disappeared among the many racks and shelves containing countless boxes of evidence from various cases, probably from the town’s foundation day to present. Anna peeked inside and noticed a shadowy figure standing behind one of the shelves. She squinted, and stepped closer to the chainlink fence that separated the corridor from the rest of the evidence storage. The shadowy figure also seemed to move closer, and now Anna could see it perfectly. She fought the urge to scream and run to the opposite direction. No matter how many times she saw it, the ghost of Simcoe terrified her. Even if he – like in that very moment – didn’t really do anything, just watched them with his head bent to one side, and his arms crossed in front of him. He also had the same long, knife looking weapon in his hand Anna heard the boys referring to as a bayonet. Anna started to back away from the fence slowly, not knowing what they should do, for as far as her knowledge went, walls and fences weren’t providing any protection from incorporeal entities such as ghosts, for they could move through them effortlessly. But before she could warn Ben and Caleb that the ghost is here, Simcoe flashed an unnerving half-smile at her, then vanished into thin air. Anna immediately noticed something about him: The first time she saw the apparition, it was nearly transparent, though very terrifying to look at. The second time, he was only half-visible, Anna remembered thinking about it after the ghost warned her to be quiet. Now he was almost there, like he somehow gained physical form. Anna didn’t want to think about what that meant.

 

Ben was unaware of their female friend’s distress, for he was facing the other direction, towards the corridor, and was peeking out to see the receptionist, in case he goes around and finds them. Caleb was on his phone, scrolling through and through the pictures he took in the haunted house’s living room. Suddenly they heard the chainlink fence’s door creak, and officer Reese was back, carrying a large plastic box with a date and case number on it. Ben offered to help her carrying the box, while Reese fished a key out from her pocket. “This way!” she said, then led the three to an unoccupied interrogation room, and brought over some more chairs, so all of them could gather around the table. “So, this is everything we found at the crime scene, plus the file with the reports.” Reese said, opening the box and letting Ben peek into it. The first thing he saw was the “killer weapon”, as the serrated bayonet was labelled, on top of the pile of items. Anna also saw it and visibly shuddered. The bayonet was covered in what looked like rust, but they pretty much knew it wasn’t. “What can you tell us about the case, officer Reese?” Caleb asked, without looking at the contents of the box. Janet cast a flat look at the file next to the box, but then she reached out, and opened it. Caleb frowned at the sight of the victim’s photo. Ben stopped rummaging through the evidence box to peek into the file over Caleb’s shoulder, and read the text aloud. “Multiple stab and cut wounds on both arms and torso. Cause of death: loss of blood, ruptured internal organs…” he continued to read, while Caleb was talking with officer Reese. He felt a pang in his heart, seeing the next page with the victim’s identifying data. “Damn, I didn’t know…” he commented. “What?” Caleb asked. “Nothing, it’s just a funny coincidence.” Ben answered awkwardly. “We have the same birthday.” Anna raised her brow, and looked into the file. “You do. Only he was two years older.” “I wonder if that means something” Ben mused. “I mean, he didn’t really bother me, like he did with you.” Caleb nudged him, and nodded towards Reese, who put her phone down. “It’s okay, I know about the ghost.” she said. “What?” Anna asked with an awkward smile. “I already told you, you’re not the only ones reporting strange activities from that house, and also not the only ones inhabiting it.” Reese explained. “Also… I have seen him too.”

There was a moment of silence. The three youngsters stared at the officer like she was a ghost herself. “It all happened a few days after I started working on the case.” Reese told them. “I was in the evidence locker, going through the box to find one specific piece I wanted to ask around about, when I saw movement from the corner of my eye.” she looked at them, and something in her expression made Ben to believe her every word. “At first, there was nobody, nothing there. It started to unnerve me after a while, so I ceased my activity and left. Next day though, I had to return and find that damn thing. That’s when I saw him, standing in front of the shelf where this box is being stored.” she stood up, and rummaged through the box to pick a small plastic bag out. A single, plain ring was in it. “He just kept on staring at me, and disappeared.” she commented. “But when I opened the box, the ring was on top of the pile, next to the bayonet.” Ben remembered seeing the ring’s sister on Lizzy’s finger. It had a date etched into it on the inside: December 30. 2013. “That was their planned wedding date.” Reese said, seeing Ben’s look. “And the day before Simcoe died.” Caleb was still going through the file, and he also found a coincidence. “It says the bastard died five minutes before midnight. That explains why all of our clocks stopped at that time.” Ben put the ring down to the table, and looked at the bayonet. “This was the weapon he was killed with?” he asked. Reese nodded. “Which is funny, considering it was one of his prized possessions. He always kept it on him.” Caleb turned a page and inserted “Guy was a former gang member.” Ben looked over to his friend, and at the picture and again read the text. “Well, he was no boy scout, that’s for sure.” Reese added. “Never really could get my head around what Lizzy saw in him. But I may be just too old to know.” she sighed. Anna was paying attention. “You know Miss Elizabeth?” she asked. Reese turned to her. “Of course I do. I had to question her, as part of the investigation. And she also didn’t buy the bullcrap of her fiancé committing suicide.” Anna nodded. “Now that we mention it… Why wasn’t any additional investigation in this case? Why it was concluded with an obviously fake result?” she inquired, and Reese lowered her head back to her phone again. “Listen kids, it might not be the answer you’re looking for, but whatever happened, someone above my rank prevented me from doing any further research. Also forced me to close the investigation as quickly as possible, and without much media attention. Which, considering it to be a small town death-case, wasn’t too big to begin with.” Ben frowned and turned a page in the file Caleb passed over to him in the meantime, and was reading everything, from witness reports to the autopsy. The whole thing started to make sense to him, and he was eager to share his theories with his friends. “Whoever killed our dear Johnny was protected, because they must be someone in higher position.” Caleb mused. “I only know one person, who fits that description.” Ben added. Anna took the engagement ring in her hands, and an idea started to form in her head, that was crazy enough to maybe work. “Why don’t we ask him?” she uttered the question and let it hang above them for a while. Reese glanced at her with suspicion, Ben and Caleb didn’t really understand what she meant. “Ask who?” the latter inquired. “The ghost.” Anna replied a bit frustratedly. “We have nearly everything that was close to him, or was on his person at the time of his passing. I mean, I know it can go very wrong, but we might as well just sit around in that damn living room, and summon him. Then he may tell us what happened to him. He’s pretty communicative anyway.” Caleb started to laugh, Ben cast a confused look at her, but Reese squinted like she was considering the option. “Take the bayonet and the ring with you. They won’t be missing from here, nobody checks the contents of these boxes once the case is closed, anyway.” she told Anna. “Why these two?” Anna asked. “As far as I’m concerned with the personal history of the late John Graves, these items were the dearest for him. I doubt bringing his torn and bloody clothes or his no longer functioning phone would do the trick.” Caleb stopped cackling. “Wait, you really want to…” he started, but got interrupted by Ben. “Anna, I don’t think this is a good idea.” “I know, but can we do anything else? Admit it guys, we’re stuck.” Ben frowned and Caleb shook his head. “It can’t end well.” he added. Reese joined in with her own opinion. “Nothing you find out could be used as evidence anyway. I wouldn’t risk it either, if I were you.” Anna sat down. “Fine…” Ben sighed, and finally sided with Anna. “All right, let’s do it.” Reese hid her face in her palm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- "Angry Johnny and The Killbillies" is a band name I will probably use as an analogy for the Queen's Rangers somewhere in another fic. :D  
> \- Also fun fact: Historical!Ben Tallmadge and Historical!Simcoe do share the same birthday, 25th of February, but considering half of you guys are history nerds along with being TURN fans, you probably already knew. I just thought it to be a funny little coe-incidence too juicy not to integrate into the fic.  
> Again, sorry for the long delay, I was in a very bad place emotionally in the last few days (Still not really recovered, to tell the truth), and writing was my little distraction from a lot of unpleasant things that just went on my mind. (therefore I ask your forgiveness of any logical-loopholes, lame plot twists or if the whole thing is going into a direction where it becomes too predictable. I tried my best, but lately I have less faith in my work than usual, so please just bear with me.)  
> Also, I still appreciate comments, kudos, or any kind of feedback really, but it's no way mandatory. I just like to know what you guys think. ;) I personally think that Simcoe's ghost is such a troll. (Can you blame him though?) :D


	5. Grave(s) Encounters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna, Ben and Caleb gets two surprise guests... That ends up being three. They all get stuck in the mysteriously locked house after they attempt the summoning. The conclusion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Umm... Hi there again!  
> Sorry for the long delay, you know what was going on with me if you read the notes on my other fics. This chapter will basically be the last, and I have a sort-of epilogue, or cover-up for it. Yaay! :"D  
> Also... The following chapter will contain occult themed stuff, and a crappy ending to an otherwise promising work of fiction. So in any case, prepare to be disappointed.

_December 30._

 

Ben woke up to his head hitting the floor. Someone or something casually dragged him out of bed. He also heard those damn footsteps above. What he found funny though, was that Caleb and Anna were both sound asleep. Ben checked on them just to be sure, then he dressed up, and went out from the guest room. He saw the ghost standing in the living room, and no matter how hard he tried to ignore it, or play cool, he jumped back when it suddenly disappeared. “What the hell…” he hissed, but then he heard that unnerving voice mimicking him in a mocking tone. Ben fled the scene to the kitchen. He was just standing next to the sink, catching his breath when he saw the magnets on the fridge door. They were arranged into a pattern that read “Too late”. And a cut-out piece of a comic book with a text bubble that read “Hahaha.” Ben cast a flat look on it, took the magnets and the piece of paper off, then threw them into the trash.

Anna walked in a moment later. “Is everything all right?” Ben nodded. “Yeah, I just threw out some stuff.” She looked around, then back to Ben. “Did you see our otherworldly problem today?” Ben’s features darkened. “Actually he kept playing pranks on me all night. The last drop was dragging me out from bed, like he did with you.” Anna shuddered. “I wanted to tell you something.” she started, but then shook her head. “Nah, it’s not important. We have to go through with this.” Ben sighed. “Do you even know how to summon a spirit? Or more importantly, how to get rid of it?” Anna shrugged. “I should have asked officer Reese, but I forgot. Besides, I’m not even sure if she could help us with it.” They both heard a cracking noise so Ben turned around, and groaned. Anna followed his stare to see what caused his distress. The magnets were back on the fridge door. This time they were arranged to form a big letter L. “What does that mean?” Ben mused. “Losers.” Anna said aridly.

The rest of the day went like that. Ben saw movements from the corner of his eye, Caleb had random objects hitting him, and Anna was creeped out every time she looked into a mirror, or just into a dark corner in the house. They saw the ghost everywhere. They sometimes heard him whispering. On one occasion, Anna could clearly understand what he was saying, so she repeated it to Ben and Caleb. “He went “No, no, no, I told you, no.”, then “It’s too late, it’s too late.” Do you think it means something?” Ben was thinking. “Maybe he was talking to his killer.” Caleb shook his head. “Nah. Why would he say it’s too late? For what? I say he’s just dicking with us, like he did the whole time.”

 

_December 31.  
_

 

Caleb surfed the net for some help with their task, when he heard a car’s engine stop in front of their house. Ben and Anna were gathering candles, and were relocating a bigger mirror into the living room. There was a knock on the door. Since it was already dark outside, they all looked at each other nervously. Caleb stood up after a short pause, and yelled “Coming!” then went to answer the door. Anna and Ben cleared the place between the couch and the chairs, in front of the fireplace. “Are you sure it supposed to be here?” Ben asked. Anna nodded. “He died on this exact spot. The mirror should be here. The candles will be all over nearby.” she pointed into the directions, then she raised her brow, when Caleb and their uninvited guest stepped in. Hewlett greeted them awkwardly. “May I ask what are you doing?” he inquired. Ben stood up, and looked down on his reflection. “We’re about to do something exceptionally stupid.” he told Hewlett flatly. The older man furrowed his brow. “We’ll try to communicate with a certain someone.” Anna tried to explain. “I’m afraid I don’t follow.” Hewlett said sheepishly. “Better sit down, Ed.” Caleb patted him on the shoulder. “They are about to summon your old friend, Johnny.”

“Are you insane?” Edmund asked. “This isn’t funny at all.” Ben cast a tired glance at him, and put the candles he carried, down to the coffee table. “I know.” he said flatly. “And it’s not a joke.” Hewlett shook his head in astonishment. “Look, I know it will sound crazy, but we keep seeing things ever since we moved here.” Ben explained. Caleb sat down, and continued to search through various blogs and pages dedicated to the paranormal. “What do you mean you keep seeing things?” Edmund asked after a short pause, just to break the awkward silence that settled into the room. Anna stopped with the arranging of Ben’s candles and turned to Hewlett. “Please, I know we sound like a bunch of lunatics. We also know that you’re a scientist, so believing us is even harder. But we did saw the… ghost, for no better words. He’s haunting this place, and we know it’s because his death wasn’t a suicide…” Hewlett turned away from her mid-sentence. “I’m leaving, and probably call the local police.” he stated. He went to the door, and opened it, just to be startled by a black-clad, small woman standing on the porch.

“Hello, Edmund.” Lizzy greeted Hewlett, who backed away. “Elizabeth, what a coincidence.” he said on a bitter tone. Ben’s blond head appeared in the doorway behind Hewlett. “Miss Lizzy, what brings you here?” he asked. “Hello, Benjamin.” Lizzy flashed a wan smile at him, then she shivered. “Could I come in? It’s pretty cold out here.” Ben glanced at Edmund then nodded. “Why not? Seems like we have just about everyone of importance here.” Lizzy looked at Hewlett questioningly, but he just shrugged and left her.

Ben had a bad feeling. About all of it. The sudden appearance of both Hewlett and Elizabeth, the séance they were about to make, the end of the year, everything. He sighed and muttered to himself “Normal people go out and have fun on New Year’s Eve, not stuck in a haunted house with their friends and a pair of awkward and creepy near-strangers.” He heard a noise, and turned around to jump back a few inches, seeing Elizabeth standing next to him. “Sorry.” she said. “I was keep calling you, but you didn’t seem to hear.” Ben felt a bit ashamed. “Oh.” he managed to add. “Anna told me what you’re up to.” Lizzy said, leaning to the sink. “And I already know that you think I’m creepy, crazy, or whatever, so I volunteered to do the summoning. At least I know how to do it properly.” Ben was surprised. “You do?” he asked. “How… If I may ask?” Lizzy just flashed a smile at him and left. The others gathered around the mirror, and a single candle in front of them. Lizzy gestured to Ben to sit down opposite of her, on the top of the mirror, while she sat down to the bottom of it. “All right.” she sighed. “I know it might sound crazy, but I know how to do this. Whatever may happen, do not look away from the mirror!” Something in Lizzy’s voice made even Caleb to nod obediently. They all confirmed that they understood Elizabeth’s request, only Hewlett grumbled “It’s ridiculous.” Lizzy looked at him sadly. “Please, Ed. You don’t have to believe in it, just do as I say.” The older man rolled his eyes. “I’m really sorry for your loss, Elizabeth. But ever since you turned to this occultist nonsense, I have a hard time talking with you.” Anna looked at Edmund with a look on her face that begged for him to shut up. “Not the best time to settle old scores.” Caleb commented. “As I said, you don’t have to believe in it, Ed. Just play along.” Lizzy answered on a cold tone. “It can end in two ways: either we will know what happened to John, or nothing will happen, because it’s – how did you put it? – ridiculous and fake.”

Ben looked at Caleb, who sighed and entered the debate. “You know Eddie, she’s right. I was a solid sceptic myself, until I ended up in this place with Johnny dear. I don’t know why he got so silent and shy suddenly, but it might be because we outnumber him.” Ben also added “I never saw a ghost before. And I didn’t believe in them until moving here. If I had known that this place is haunted, I might not even invite my friends over. Or didn’t even buy the house to begin with.” Edmund still looked at them like they were crazy, then he went and turned off the lamps. The only source of light were the lit candles on the mirror, on top of the fireplace and the coffee table opposite of it. Lizzy looked around on the participants. “Do we need to hold hands?” Caleb asked. “No, but you must look at the mirror, and nowhere else.” Lizzy answered. They all focused on the glass, now only reflecting the candlelight and the ceiling, and the two items placed in the middle of it. “Can you hear us, John?” Lizzy asked. “Are you here now? Show yourself, if you hear me!” Nothing happened. They waited for a while, and Lizzy repeated her questions, but still, the mirror only reflected the ceiling and the candles. The wan light played a trick with the rusty coat of the bayonet, or at least Ben thought he saw it like the blood on it was fresh. He refocused his eyes on the glass. “John, are you here?” Lizzy asked again. “Please, if you hear me, give me a sign!” Nothing. Lizzy sighed and they all moved their gaze from the mirror. Before he did, Hewlett thought he sees something crossing the mirror. He blinked, but nothing unusual was there, or in the room. “Maybe it will be better if we’ll try again a few minutes before midnight.” Anna told Lizzy, who nodded. Then both of them froze, as Lizzy’s hair was suddenly lifted by an unseen force. Ben and Caleb jumped away from the mirror and from Lizzy just seconds before the glass shattered to pieces, like it was dropped from a considerable height. Anna and Edmund covered their eyes with their hands.

“What on Earth is going on here?” a voice suddenly came from the front door. Ben turned around to see who’s there, while Caleb helped Anna and Lizzy up. Hewlett swiped pieces of the broken mirror off of his sweater. Ben was looking at another uninvited guest, as Benedict Arnold walked in. “Sorry, the door was open, and I heard a loud crash and screams.” he stated. “But frankly, I never expected to see this.” Another thing he probably never expected was to be pushed to the wall by…nothing. Literally. “We held a séance.” Ben explained after helping Arnold to his feet. “And it looks like things just got out of control…” Arnold looked at him like he was a mental patient. “A séance? What, did you want to talk with Marilyn Monroe’s cat?” Hewlett stood next to Ben, and tried to help him explain the situation. “The young man and his friends here tried to contact the spirit of the house’s former owner.” a sly little grin appeared on his features. “You probably knew him.” While Ben was surprised at Edmund’s sudden change of belief, he was grateful for the help. “Yes, I did know Simcoe.” Arnold stated. “And I also know his girlfriend, who’s maybe twice as crazy as he was.” Ben glanced back at Lizzy, who held on to Anna, and was crying loudly, apparently shaken from her experience with the ghost. Caleb turned around to see what was going on, so Ben nodded to him. “We might be in danger here.” he said to Arnold. “I think it would be better if we’d…” he couldn’t continue, because they heard a loud noise as the front door slammed shut.

 

Lights began to flicker, and everything went dark suddenly. Anna and Elizabeth went closer to Caleb, who noticed a drop in the room’s temperature. It was cold like outside. Ben, Edmund and Arnold also noticed it, and Ben found himself looking all over, maybe to see something he wasn’t too keen on seeing. There was dead silence, then suddenly a voice spoke. “I told you to leave.” All the participants looked around. The ghost was nowhere to be seen, or didn’t manifest physically, only his unnerving, lilted falsetto could be heard. “Now you won’t be leaving.”

Arnold ran to the front door and tore it open, only to stare into the black void that he found on the other side. There was no way out. Like the world that existed outside of the house’s boundaries suddenly ceased to be. The only thing indicating that there still was a world outside was the howling wind, and the chill that came through the open door. Hewlett went after Arnold, and he too was staring at the literal nothing. “What do we do?” they heard Anna ask. “I may know a way to end the haunting, but I’m not sure that it will work.” Elizabeth managed to say. Ben went over to them. “It might be our only chance before something bad happens. What is it?” Lizzy sighed, and looked around, to pick up and re-light a candle. “Put this into a bowl of water, and tell the ghost this is your home now, and he’s no longer welcome here. Then blow the candle out. The ghost will follow the flame to the otherworld.” Ben didn’t think so, but they had to try. As he and Anna made preparations, Arnold and Hewlett came back from the door. Caleb turned to Lizzy and asked. “Where did you learn all of this stuff?” She hung her head, but when she lifted it, there was no sign of despair or distress. “Did you ever lose someone so close to you that you thought you died with them?” Caleb slowly nodded. Lizzy continued. “The first year, it was horrible. Everything reminded me of him. I just wanted to forget and live my life, but I couldn’t. I reckoned, it was because we somehow still have a connection. He can’t move on, because I can’t. So I turned to the occult. As Edmund said before, we didn’t really talk after my first attempt at summoning John’s spirit.” Caleb glanced over to Hewlett, who was occupied with lighting candles to make them be able to see something. Arnold just leaned to the wall, curiously listening on their conversation. He didn’t make any comments yet, and Caleb hoped he never will, for his own sake. They heard footsteps from the room upstairs. Caleb shook it off as the ghost’s prank. He was curious about what Lizzy had to say. “So? Did you succeed?” Elizabeth chuckled and shook her head. “No. Of course not. I attempted later again. And again. I was so desperate to see him, to talk with him again, to say goodbye.” she brushed her hair away from her face. “If only I knew I was attempting it at the wrong place…” Caleb found something very odd about the woman. He didn’t know at first, but now he was sure that she was… happy. “Ghosts are bound to their territory.” she explained. “I probably wasn’t able to summon him because he can’t leave the house.” Caleb wanted to mention what they heard from officer Reese, that she too saw Simcoe’s ghost standing in front of the evidence box containing his most prized possessions, but he didn’t want to add oil to the fire. The woman seemed crazy enough already. But was she? After what he’s been through lately, Caleb wasn’t sure what to think anymore. Anna and Ben came back with a glass bowl filled with water, and a floating tealight placed in it, that Lizzy lighted after they put it onto the coffee table. “All right Ben, your turn.” Caleb said. Ben exhaled, and stared at the little flame flickering on the tiny floating candle. “John Graves Simcoe, you’re not welcome here!” He shouted. “This is my home now, and I want you to leave!” He repeated it a few times, before blowing out the tealight. Again, nothing happened for a while. Then suddenly all windows and doors swung open and shut at the same time, the wind blew out the candles they lighted. All of them fled from the living room, and scattered throughout the house. Anna, Lizzy and Ben hid in the guest room, while Caleb, Arnold and Hewlett ran to the study opposite of it.

“Well, that didn’t work.” Ben stated, hiding behind the guest room bed. Anna and Lizzy peeked out, but they saw nothing. They heard the floorboards creaking above them, and a loud thud, like someone or something heavy fell over. They didn’t hear anything else then for a while, then the slightly echoing, high male voice told them “He’s coming for you. No more hiding.” Ben suddenly felt the stress of the whole week, and stood up. He faced the partially manifested apparition, and said “Oh, I won’t be hiding.” The shadow that seemed like the former owner of the house shook his head. “Soon you’ll be like me.” then he disappeared. Ben felt his legs trembling, as he sat down to the edge of the bed. “What did he mean?” he heard Lizzy ask. “I don’t know.” Ben confessed.

Caleb, Hewlett and Arnold also heard the loud noises from above. “Is there someone in the bedroom upstairs?” Edmund asked on a hushed voice, earning a dirty look from Caleb. “Probably good ‘ol Johnny.” he answered. “Why did he say we won’t be leaving?” Hewlett kept on asking questions, that Caleb didn’t want to hear. “He was your friend, so you should know.” Arnold decided to put his proverbial two cents in. “He wants to kill us, maybe.” As much as he didn’t believe in anything out of the ordinary, what he saw and experienced in his house so far, started to shake his worldview. He felt something cold, and exclaimed the next second. Hewlett and Brewster stopped arguing as soon as they turned around to see what happened to Arnold. What they saw made even the painfully polite and offish Edmund utter a curseword. Benedict was wrestling with a deathly pale, semi-corporeal figure, that seemed like leaning out from the wall, and trying to strangle him. What made Arnold nearly die from fright was surprisingly not that. He knew the voice that whispered in his ear very well. “You knew it!” Simcoe’s ghost hissed. “You knew it, yet you never told me!” As he lifted his head and glanced at Caleb and Edmund with his dead eyes, he added “And you never told them either.” He disappeared again, letting the startled Arnold go. “What was he talking about?” Caleb asked. Arnold looked at them, but he only shook his head.

The noises from the upper room began to resemble struggle, and Anna kept on staring at the ceiling. Lizzy drew some complicated patterns with a pencil on the wall next to her. Ben sat on the floor and was thinking on what he should do. He couldn’t think of anything they didn’t try before. Then the noises stopped for a moment before the upstairs room door flung open, and they heard the footsteps coming their direction. Ben stood up, and was prepared to fight whatever comes through that door, but then, some more loud thumping and a few curses later the door opened, and Caleb peeked in. “Benny, you have to see this!” Ben looked at Anna, who nudged Lizzy, then all three of them went out, back to the living room. Interesting would be an understatement to what they saw there. Arnold held a man approximately his size, along with Caleb, who commenced tying the stranger up. Hewlett stood beside them vigilantly with a frying pan in hand. “Who the hell is this?” Anna asked. “Looks like the caretaker of the house.” Ben answered, but looked at Arnold with an inquiring expression. “Indeed.” The other man nodded. “And he’s also my nephew.”

After they finished securing their last uninvited guest, Hewlett, Caleb, Ben and Anna circled around Benedict, and stared at him until he finally spoke. “I knew something was wrong here.” he stated. Lizzy took a step closer to the group, but she stopped, because she noticed something among the ruins of the mirror on the floor. Arnold continued his tale. “It began long ago. Pete here was only a kid when our family bought the old hunter’s lodge that we later renovated and expanded to be the house you all now standing in.” it sounded like a commercial, or a presentation he prepared for future buyers. “We only rented it out in holiday seasons, and nobody was using it permanently.” He glanced over to his relative, and back to the group. “It went well for a few years, then it happened for the first time. My old co-worker, and then-lover of my wife called John André, hung himself here in the cabin.” Anna put her hand in front of her mouth and furrowed her brow. Ben also shook his head. “Then a year later a woman was found dead. And another man, a few months later. And another, and a couple went missing. It went like this, every time someone rented the cabin, there was a pretty big chance that they won’t leave it ever again.” Arnold carried on. “At first, we didn’t even suspect that Pete has something to do with the deaths and disappearances surrounding the cabin for rent. He took care of it, as well as he could. Then my family became tired of the constant investigations, the nagging of cops and the self-proclaimed paranormal experts sneaking in and around the cabin looking for “ghosts”. Well if they’d be here now, they might be in luck.” He finished. “How did Simcoe come in the picture?” Ben asked a few moments later. “We decided to sell the house, so I promoted it, did my job.” Arnold shrugged. “But I had to get buyers from a different town or city, because the place was pretty infamous among the people living here. So, I advertised it everywhere then one day, he called. He looked like a drifter on a bike, so at first I didn’t even want to sell the place to him, but he convinced me. He paid the whole price in full on first meeting.”

Anna shook her head. “Did you even know that Simcoe was a criminal? He had a nice police record back in New York and also Philadelphia.” Arnold sighed. “No, of course I didn’t know. And to be frank, I didn’t even care after he paid his due.” Caleb laughed bitterly, while Ben cursed under his nose. Hewlett stared at Arnold, and raised his index finger, indicating he had a question. “That is all well and good, but I still don’t understand what happened to John. I mean, the murders and disappearances ceased quite long before he moved in, and only started again with his death, as far as I know. So I guess there’s a plot hole in your tale, sir.” Benedict shrugged. “That’s all I know.” Caleb joined Hewlett’s side and added “Or you’re just covering for him because he’s family.” he gestured to the unconscious Pete Arnold. “We could be the next ones, and you didn’t even deign to tell us about this.” Ben said indignantly. “You know that means you’ll be sentenced to whatever fate awaits your nephew, because if we ever get out of here, I’m telling the police about it.” “And they will do nothing.” They heard Lizzy’s voice, so they turned around. She stood next to the fireplace, and stared at them with a sad and angry expression. “He’s covering the younger one’s trails for a long time now. John wasn’t the first who died because of them, and certainly wasn’t the last. After his death, the house was for sale. Many people bought it before you, Ben. Some of them fled after a week. Some of them disappeared.” Heavy silence occupied the room, which was only broken by the sudden beeping and buzzing of all clocks and alarms on everyone’s phone. It was 5 minutes to midnight.

Lights began to flicker again, then they heard music coming from the radio. The broken mirror disappeared from the floor, and got replaced by the rug that occupied the place before Anna and Ben rearranged everything. In fact, the furniture in the room got repositioned to their respective former place. Ben felt something cold, then saw Simcoe walking past him like he wasn’t even there. Caleb jumped away from the ghost’s path, but it didn’t interact with them in any way, unlike before. As Anna noticed, the decoration changed, and she saw the picture of Lizzy sitting on the coffee table, proudly presenting her engagement ring from the photograph. John put a glass next to the picture, and he glanced at it and smiled, fishing out his phone to send the last text message to his fiancée ever. Then someone knocked on the door, so he went over to answer it. From their vantage point, the group couldn’t see who stood outside, but the argument Simcoe had with them was more than creepy. “No, and again, no.” The heard the familiar falsetto. “I told you time and again, that I have no intention to leave.” “You will.” the unknown person, probably Pete Arnold, said calmly. “To be fair, I thought telling your uncle about your strange habits will help me get rid of your sorry ass, but now I see my mistake.” Simcoe said on a chilly tone. “I know things about you too.” Pete riposted, still eerily calm. “Like what? My prison record? It’s nothing new. Yours however would be interesting to the local police.” Pete’s voice began to lose its calm tone. “You’re lying!” “Oh, believe me I’m not.” Ben and his friends could see Simcoe sneering even if they were behind his back. “There was a time when I had a feeling we could come to an understanding Peter. But sadly it’s too late for that now. Happy New Year!” he turned around to close the door, but the other man attacked him. Despite the knowledge of him being drinking that night and had to take medicine for his mental illness, Simcoe was no easy opponent. The two apparitions fought all over the place, knocking things over, and falling through their silent observers. Anna went over to Lizzy, and held her hand, as the final act of the scene came. Pete Arnold stabbed Simcoe with his own bayonet multiple times, until he stopped struggling. He then put the blade into its owner’s hand, like he inflicted the wounds on himself, and fled. His bloody footprints were all over the place. John didn’t die instantly, he was staring at Lizzy’s photograph, that was knocked over and broke out of its frame, and slowly got drenched in his blood. After it was done, they found themselves in the mess they made again. The body was gone; the broken mirror lay in its place. Lizzy cried without a sound, and even Anna couldn’t hold back a tear. The men around them were also silent and motionless, until Caleb went over to open the door. He was greeted by the sight of trees and the full moon, its light radiated back by the snow. Ben called officer Reese. The curse was over. All they needed to break it, was a confession.

A few hours later the patrol cars came and took both Arnolds away to be interrogated. Janet collected the old evidence she let Ben and his friends borrow. “I think one piece is missing.” she said, after she checked the contents of the box Caleb gave her. “Oh, I lost the ring somewhere in the room.” Anna said apologetically. “We’ll let you know if we find it.” Reese nodded. “All right. I guess I have some work to do, so you guys stay safe and out of trouble!” Ben smiled and assured her that they intend to do just that. After the police left with the two suspects, Hewlett cleared his throat, and stood before the small group. “Well, after all we had to experience here, I think we all need a little change. Perhaps a place where we could sleep without being afraid of some otherworldly entity having fun with punching us in the face while dreaming…” Caleb looked at Edmund and said “I support the idea!” Ben and Anna glanced at each other, then over to Lizzy. “You see, my mother sent me turkey and cookies and a lot of stuff I simply won’t be able to consume on my own, so how about we relocate to my place?” Hewlett carried on. Ben hummed then nodded. “It sounds like a fantastic idea.” They gathered their coats and boots, and left the haunted house. Lizzy turned back from the door, and she saw movement in the living room. She felt a cold hand caressing her face, and heard a faint voice wishing her safe travel.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. It's godawful and why the hell did I go with it instead of letting Simcoe be the bad guy he supposed to be. My explanation? I thought this plot twist is not lame. Now that I know otherwise, I have nothing more to explain. Oh wait. The chapter title is a pun of a horror movie title. (I saw it, it was bad in a good sense, and I never want to see it again. It gave me nightmares, and I'm not a person who has nightmares because of a movie.)  
> Still with me? Okay, I only got the epilogue left.


	6. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the title suggests, the aftermath of the story.

_A few days later, in January._

 

Abby didn’t expect the commotion around the house, but it somehow warmed her heart to see the group of people working together and packing boxes into cars. She saw Anna, and went over to her. “Hi!” the latter greeted. “I didn’t expect to see you around.” “Actually, I just wanted to ask if you guys are okay.” Abby explained. “The real estate agency went bankrupt, and they will probably quit business for good, but after all I’ve heard, it’s probably for the best.” Anna nodded. “Well, as you see we help Ben pack his belongings and move them to a storage. As long as the investigation goes on, we can’t leave town, so we’ll be staying at Edmund’s place. What happens after then, I don’t know.” Lizzy’s car parked next to the pickup truck Ben and Caleb were stuffing with boxes, and she went to them seeing if they need any help. Anna turned over to her, then back to Abby. “Will you excuse me for a moment? I have some business with Lizzy. I’ll get back to you in a minute.” Abby nodded. “Of course.” Anna called Lizzy over, and shepherded her back into the house. “Umm, I wanted to give you something.” she opened one of the drawers in the kitchen counter, and picked up a small plastic bag. It had John’s ring in it. Lizzy smiled sadly, and took the little package. “Thank you.” “I should give it back to officer Reese, but after what I’ve saw…” Anna started to explain, but then she rather shook her head and didn’t say anything. “He only tried to warn you.” Lizzy said. “He was trying to scare you away, so you will not die like he did.” Lizzy opened the bag and put the ring next to hers on her necklace. She no longer wore her engagement ring on her finger. “I hope you’ll move on eventually.” Anna said and left Lizzy, who didn’t answer, just smiled.

 

Anna talked with Abby for the remainder of the day, while the boys were closing trunks and talking with investigators. They heard the details later, after they all were gone. The house and its surrounding area was literally torn to pieces, revealing remains of at least a dozen people who went missing. Pete Arnold was found to be a psychopath and sent to an institute for the criminally insane. Benedict Arnold was sentenced for a long time in prison for being an accomplice. Officer Reese got promoted, and her former superiors couldn’t make her stop the investigation this time. Peggy and Abby moved back to Philadelphia, and stayed in contact. Anna went back to her husband, and tried her best to reconcile and mend their dented relationship. Sometimes she wondered what made her change her mind. Then she remembered Lizzy. And also the pretty unnerving thing she saw on their last day in that haunted place, but never mentioned to her friends. When she gave her fiancé’s ring back to Lizzy, the whole house seemed to be rid of a dark aura. The air was lighter. The lights were brighter. She saw the small painter sit in her car, and saying goodbye to Ben, then she started the engine. As Anna turned to leave, she froze, and couldn’t get her eyes away from Lizzy’s car. On the back seat, she saw the lanky frame of Simcoe, looking right at her. Anna saw him wave his hand before he vanished into thin air, as the car went past her. Caleb never accompanied Ben to any of his holiday adventures again, especially if they involved desolate cabins in the woods. Ben put the house on sale, but so far he didn’t have any luck finding someone who would buy it. He started to study paranormal activities in his free time. As for Edmund, he found no place among the citizens of the small town, and moved back to his family, but sometimes he wrote some letters and e-mails to his new friends. He also began to chase ghosts.

 

 

                                                                                                                          The End

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, commenting and giving feedback! You guys are awesome! <3

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for cutting it short here, I will hurry up with the rest, but I just wanted it to be up in time. :) Let me know what you think! (Not mandatory of course, but even a one-line comment is appreciated. :) )  
> \- *Compos mentis: Means someone was declared mentally unstable, unfit for comprehending his/her actions. It's commonly used as defence in court.  
> \- I don't own the song quoted here. (It's called "This house is not for sale", and it's by Bon Jovi. All rights go to them for it.)


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